Transcript Slide 1

National Indian Child Welfare Association
NICWA is dedicated to improving the
lives of American Indian children and
families.
- Mission Statement
Methamphetamine and
Indian Child Welfare
Nadja Jones, MSW
Community Development Specialist
Tribal Child Welfare
Tribes
have inherent sovereign authority
over civil regulatory matters (e.g. child
protection)
Indian
Child Welfare Act of 1978
•Criteria
states must follow when
taking an Indian child into custody
•Empowering tribes to exercise their
sovereign authority
Tribal Child Welfare
Services
may be:
•Tribally operated under tribal code
•State operated under P.L. 280
•Federally operated by BIA under the
federal trust responsibility and the
authority of the Snyder Act
•Any combination of the above
Highly
dependent on collaboration
What is Meth?
• Comes in several
• Highly addictive
forms – powder,
substance
rocks, crystal
• Stimulant drug
• Illegally produced • In its crystal form, it
is called ‘crystal
and distributed
meth’
• Can be snorted,
smoked, swallowed,
and/or injected
Meth Is Not Natural
Unlike heroin, cocaine, and marijuana,
meth is dependent on a manufacturing
process involving store bought chemicals.
Meth Awareness Class
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Alcohol (denatured)
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Acetone
Ammonium sulfate (fertilizer) •
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Battery acid
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Bleach
Cold or allergy pills
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containing ephedrine
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• Drain cleaner (lye based)
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• Gasoline addictive (Heet)
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• Hydrogen Peroxide
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Iodine
Iithium batteries
Matches
Mineral Spirits
Hydrochoric acid (drain or
pool cleaner)
Table or rock salt
Sodium or lithium metal
Starting fluid
Gun cleaning solvent
The Most Common Ingredient
•Pseudo ephedrine or ephadephrine cold
medicine
•A cooking process is used to chemically
make meth – simple and crude labs are
used, a dangerous and lethal drug is made,
leaving a toxic hazard
Equipment Commonly Used
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Aluminum foil
Blenders
Bottles (pop, glass, milk)
Glassware
Camp stoves
Cheesecloth
Coffee filters
Cotton balls
Duct tape
Electric hot plates
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Funnels
Garden spray jugs
Gas cans
Paper towels
pH test strips
Plastic tubing
Pressure cookers
Propane tanks
Pyrex dishes
Rags
It’s not the items, it’s the oddness of
the items and their placement in the
home.
Coffee filters in the living room, heat in
the kitchen, propane tanks, and grill.
Residential and Building Clues
• Access denied to landlords,
neighbors, and community
visitors
• Chemical staining on walls
and floors
• Covered or blacked out
windows
• Security measures; baby
monitors outside/cameras
• Stained or burnt grass
indicating where
chemicals were dumped
• Packaging from items on
previous list in large
quantities in trash
• Coffee filters, sheets, and
pillow cases stained red
If You Suspect a Meth Lab
•Leave at once and report it;
•Do not open coolers, containers, or boxes;
•Do not touch items; and
•Handling meth lab chemicals or meth lab
residue can cause burning in your eyes and
skin. Breathing in the gas can cause
respiratory damage.
Vital Collaborations
Tribal
Law Enforcement
Child Welfare
Child Care Providers
Education Systems
Housing
Children’s Mental Health
Indian Health Services
What is suggested
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Existing informal relationships
between frontline workers of each
system
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The willingness to form formal
agreements
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Acknowledgement of shared values
- our children
Protocols for Each System
•Personnel Decontamination
•Emergency Activation
•Immediate Response
•System Response at 72 hours
•Follow - up Activities with Timelines
Protocol for Medical Evaluations
of Children Found at Drug Labs
•Law Enforcement
•Child Protective Services
•Medical Personnel
•Children’s Mental Health
•Emergency Department
What Is A “Worldview”?
•Collective thought process of a
group or people
•“Linear Worldview”
•“Relational Worldview”
Linear Worldview
Western European/American thought
Cause g Effect g New Cause g New Effect
Linear Worldview
Social Work/Medical Model
Social History g Presenting Problem g Assessment g Treatment g Outcome
Relational Worldview
Native and Tribal Thought
Context
Mind
Spirit
Body
BALANCE
Relational Worldview
Native and Tribal Thought
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Fluid cyclical view of time
Each aspect of life is related
Services aimed to restore balance
Interventions may not be directed at
“symptoms”
• Underlying question is “how?”
Putting It Into Practice
At the Individual Level
Relational Worldview
Individual and Family Level
Social History
Economics
Work/School
Family/Peers
Community
Context
Culture
Spirit
Innate Positive
Learned Positive
Innate Negative
Learned Negative
Knowledge/Judgment
Thinking Process
Self Esteem
Memories
Mind
Emotions
Body
Bio-Chemistry
Genetics
Health Status
Sleep/Rest State
Substance Use/Abuse
Children’s Mental Health
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Vulnerability
Early Mental Health Screening
Assessment
Treatment
Vulnerability
• Risk due to age
• Special needs
• Chronic parental neglect and
abuse
• Third party abuse
• Reactive attachment
disorder
• Exposure to domestic
violence
Early Screening
• Children exposed to the
world of meth are
exposed to many other
risk factors
• In addition refer to other
providers
• Physical and dental
exams necessary
• Developmental
assessment
Assessment
• Consumer driven
• Mental health is important to
overall health
• Used to develop and
implement an intervention
plan
• Referral to other needed
services
Treatment
Services are driven by the need of the
child and family
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Individualized plan of care
Access
Coordinate services
Improve exiting resources
The Relationship Between Substance
Abuse and Child Abuse
Those who were abused and neglected as
children are more likely to have substance
use disorders as adults.
Adults with substance use disorders are
more likely to abuse or neglect their children.
The result is a multi-generational cycle of
abuse and neglect.
Key Points of Understanding
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Frontline home visitors are at great risk for
environmental hazards of an undetected
methhouse.
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Children may be contaminated and require
immediate medical triage.
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Removing a child from the home needs to
be a part of a multiple-step protocol.
Child Services Providers
Need accurate information about the
drug
Need to know the effects on parents
Need to know potential dangers to
children
Need to know the efficacy of treatment
Need to know the possibility of recovery
for parents
Child Safety Risks
 Risk rises with level of parent’s
involvement
Episodic user, dependency, pregnant
users, home meth cooks, trafficking,
and manufacturing?
 User
Poor judgment, confusion, inadequate
supervision, second- hand smoke,
accidental ingestion, violence, and
paranoia
Body
Dependency
Need for substance becomes more
important than the needs of the child—
neglect, medical, food, and higher risk
of abuse.
Prenatal
Avoidance of medical care, brain and
organ development, poor nutrition,
oxygen deficit, and etc.
Context
Home labs
Toxic chemical, fumes near floor,
poisoning, fire, explosions, and
greater vulnerability to health risks
Trafficking
Violence, weapons, and physical or
sexual abuse by customers
Exposure to Meth
Manufacturing (superlabs)
Few cases, but similar exposure
Symptoms of Exposure
Chronic cough, chest pain, shortness
of breath, dizziness, headache, skin or
eye irritation, chemical burns, nausea,
and lethargy
Working with Parents
Lack of recognition of the problem
Inability to track written instructions
(cognitive impairment)
Serious health dental problems
Psychological disturbances, psychosis,
confusion, and memory loss
Depression and anxiety associated with
discontinuing drug use
Relational Worldview
Organizational and Community Level
(Context)
(Mind)
Environment
Infrastructure
(Spirit)
Mission
(Body)
Resources
Our Children Require
 Early Identification
Collaboration with partners
Observing removal protocols
Mobilizing/supporting treatment
Post-treatment casework
Reunification, relapse planning
Care of the child
National Alliance for Drug
Endangered Children
•Promotes the cause of drug endangered
children
•Holds annual national conferences on the
needs of DEC
•Provides coordination and support for
efforts among state and tribal DEC
alliances.
•www.nationaldec.org
Drug Endangered Children
Program Key Services
•Removal of children from endangering
environments
•Medical, dental and health evaluations and
services
•Drug and chemical exposure screening
•Mental health evaluation and services
•Addiction treatment and restoration of
families whenever possible
Tribal Resources
•[email protected]
•List serve of research reports, training
events, and news artciles
•Initiated in January 2006 and maintained
by the Tribal Law and Policy Institute
•Please send a request to [email protected]
National Tribal Initiatives
•BIA Office of Justice Services
•Handles law enforcement and tribal courts
•2006 BIA Meth Survey
•National Congress of American Indians
(NCAI)
Now What?
•Use this model as a framework
•Do a self assessment
•Make a commitment to the process
•Develop a plan for action
•Share what you learned
•Do something different
Questions?
Nadja Jones, MSW
Community Development Specialist
[email protected]
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)
5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, Oregon 97239
503.222.4044 ext. #146
503.222.4007 fax
www.nicwa.org
Let’s remember why we are really here
today…
Healthy Native Children
NICWA Thanks Our Partners
• The Tribal Law and Policy Institute
• The National Congress of American Indians
• The National Center on Substance Abuse and
Child Welfare
• The Drug Endangered Children’s Alliance
• Rob Bovett, Special Prosecutor for the Oregon
Drug Task Force
• Vickie Oana, Community Development
Specialist, NICWA
• Tanya Firemoon, Project Support, NICWA
www.nicwa.org
National Indian Child Welfare Association
NICWA is dedicated to improving the lives
of American Indian children and families.
- Mission Statement